Kroger announced Wednesday it plans to invest $84 million this year into stores in Greater Cincinnati and Dayton, with projects including a new Marketplace store in Hamilton Township and remodeling of 15 other stores in the region.

The cash infusion is almost three times the typical $30 million in capital projects Kroger spends each year in for region. The Kroger Marketplace in Warren County alone represents a $39 million investment in southwest Ohio. The supermarket giant controls about half the region's grocery sales.

The Cincinnati-based grocer will also spend $45 million on renovations and upgrades to several stores in the region, including: Blue Ash, Colerain Township, Fairfield, Green Township, Huber Heights, Kings Mills, Lebanon, Kettering (two different locations), Middletown, Monfort Heights, Mount Washington, Sharonville, West Chester and Connersville, Indiana.

The new 123,000-square-foot Marketplace store is slated to open later this year and will feature enhanced produce, deli, bakery, meat, seafood and sushi departments. It will also have a Murray’s Cheese shop, Starbucks, a fuel center and an apparel section.

“This investment is yet another demonstration of the commitment Kroger makes each and every day to the customers and communities in which we serve,” said Ann Reed, Cincinnati/Dayton division president. “It also reconfirms our dedication to increasing career advancement for our associates, economic growth and supporting local producers who supply our stores with high quality products.”

Kroger's local division employs 20,000 workers and has more than 100 local stores in southwest Ohio, northern Kentucky and southeast Indiana.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Kroger said it will spend $84M on store upgrades, expansions in Ohio